Ex-UDA brigadier Andre Shoukri dubbed 'penalty points prince' after driving offences

Although he was a no-show at Newtownards Magistrates Court on Tuesday, defence solicitor David Jones entered a guilty plea to excess speed on behalf of his client.

A prosecuting lawyer said given the plea, she would withdraw a second charge accusing Shoukri of failing to notify the authorities of who was driving his car on May 24.

She told the court that a mobile speed camera on the Shore Road in north Belfast had recorded a Volvo XC60 travelling at 41mph in the 30 and while Shoukri (44) was the registered owner, he had failed to respond to a fixed penalty notice.

That offence came a week after Shoukri was allegedly caught driving with neither a licence nor insurance but that case is to be contested next month.

In court on Tuesday, District Judge Mark Hamill imposed three penalty points and a £60 fine.

Andre Shoukri is a prominent loyalist from the Westland estate in Belfast.

In July 2003 he received a two-year prison sentence for unlawful possession of a gun and received a nine-year sentence for various crimes in 2007 connected to intimidation.